Sunday, January 30, 2011

Fitness 400: The Musical?

I've recently printed out a copy of my blog and have begun reading/editing it in hopes that I can put it together into some sort of self-help format to be published, and this morning while watching an exceptionally fantastic episode of Glee - the one where Rachel is on the verge of discovering her mom's true identity to the tune of Les Mis' "I dreamed a dream" - I began thinking...Fitness 400 would be make an awesome musical!

Don't laugh! I really think a story like mine would make entertaining, maybe even inspiring musical theater. Think about it - it's the story of one man's transformation from debilitating doubt to unbridled optimism, a man who battles demons that take on physical dimensions in the shape of a 200 pound weight gain, and then loses those pounds through a series of poignant and life-affirming adventures in his work life and social life, eventually falling in love (only after having found love for himself along the way).

Well, it's just a thought at this point, but an exciting one. Oh, the possibilities!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

My eating regimen: A "typical" day

I've lost more than 150 pounds in a little over a year through making incremental lifestyle and diet changes. What I eat is pretty consistent these days, so I thought this would be a good time to give you a sample of my "typical" eating habits.

So, this is what I've eaten so far today:

Breakfast (7 a.m.)
1 organic egg, fried
1 whole wheat English muffin
¼ cup cereal, Ezekiel 4:9 with flax seeds
¼ cup organic milk, 1 percent
16 ounces water

Snack (9:30 a.m.)
1 banana
½ cup low fat Greek yogurt
¾ cup organic mixed berries
1 tsp wheat germ

Snack (11 a.m.)
6 almonds
1 tbsp. shelled walnuts
1 tbsp. pumpkin seeds (in shell)
1 tbsp. sunflower seeds (shelled)
3 dried apricots
1 tbsp. raisins
16 ounces water

Lunch (1 p.m.)
1 cup cooked quinoa with fresh green peas
½ cup cooked yellow split peas with spices cooked with turmeric, fenugreek and red chili powder
¼ cup cooked spinach
3 stalks celery, raw
3 medium-sized carrots, raw
16 ounces water

Pre-WorkoutSnack 3 p.m.
1 red delicious apple
1 banana

Post-Workout Snack (4:30 p.m.)
Oh Yeah! Protein Bar

Dinner (5:15 p.m.)
1 cup cooked quinoa with fresh green peas
½ cup cooked yellow split peas with spices cooked with turmeric, fenugreek and red chili powder
¼ cup cooked spinach
16 ounces water
Some olive oil (A bit is drizzled on the batch of quinoa/peas/spinach mixture which is my daily staple food.)

Snack (8 p.m.)
1 tsp walnuts (shelled)
1/2 banana

That's it! It's a lot of food, huh? I have no idea how many calories it is, so I plan on doing a work up of that later. Any nutritionists out there? I'd appreciate your help.

Tonight when i get home I might have a few bites of my cold quinoa/peas/spinach mixture in the fridge, but that's it. Eating a lot of food and at frequent intervals throughout the day keeps me satisfied all night long.

Leave me a note and let me know what you think!